I've been really pissed at someone who has completely shafted me in the friendship department. They used me for what they wanted, and now that I apparently have nothing of value for them to take from me, they want nothing further to do with me.

That really fucking pisses me off. I must be some kind of asshole sucker type to continually allow people to come into my life and rip my heart out.

Perhaps I need to not make any more friends.

At any rate, I wrote this person a message and told them exactly how I feel. I doubt anything will come of it, but we have mutual acquaintances so this should make for some spicy social fireworks.

Fuck that guy.

Well I just wrote a big post and then it got erased. Like this hasn't happened before. In a nutshell I was saying:

- it's weird to think LJ is connected to FB. Of course I'm not going to tell ANYONE who doesn't already know about my blog. I'd still like to keep that secret.

- I bought a dress online totally blind, and it almost fits perfectly. It would if I could lose 5-10 pounds, which is my new goal for the next three-four months. Wish me luck. I'm not going to kill myself to do it, but I think small changes could really help.

- Looking forward to my birthday .. I don't know what is going on, but I think something is in the works for May 10th. If you'd like to come, let me know and I'll pass along that information to whoever is actually doing something about this. There may even be a Facebook group.

- That's about it really .. I'm getting over being sick, been teaching quite a bit recently, got shafted for yet another job, but otherwise, am loving the new weather and enjoying my new pairs of flip flops, courtesy of Old Navy.

Hope all is well with everyone out there.

I've completed a few things on my list.. thought I'd share so you can keep up with me. :) Hope some of you made your own lists!

16. Only buy medium coffees for a month. (30/30)
23. Read 20 non-fiction books (1/20)
25. Read 12 biographies (1/12)
26. Read 50 of the 100 Best Novels, 1923-Present http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html (17/50)
28. Write to the people who sent me Christmas cards.
38. Cash in Airmiles and cut up card.
40. Put batteries in my watches.
62. Try Letterboxing.
79. Clean up and organize my iTunes library (WIP)
97. Use or donate the remaining scrapbook materials I own.
100. Donate clothes I haven’t worn in over a year unless sentimental/irreplaceable.


Woot. Some things are now done. Others will be coming shortly. :) Some are works in progress! I have to figure out how to use strikeout in one of these entries. Hah!

I seriously was deluded into thinking this would be the 2nd and last sitting for this tattoo. What's rather upsetting to me is that several people have asked me if it is a tattoo of chili or jalapeno peppers. I think, "Are you stupid or something?" but it didn't stop that niggling of self-doubt in my mind. Then I went back to, "Nah, you're just stupid".

I like it dammit. Anyone with half a brain can figure out what it is. Bitches.



Next, and final, sitting is now scheduled for April 12th. I definitely can't afford any more after that one!

Maybe some people need to re-look at those peppers first before opening their fat traps.

Perfect Image Tattoo in London, ON, done by Dana Carnegie .. time? 3 hours 1st sitting.. two more to go .. finish the outline and do all the colour. I can't wait!

HOLY CRAP!

I tried to post this on the start date (which was February 1st) but the interwebs wasn't working properly that day. .

So now, I give you my challenge list. You can do one too .. if you like.. message me for details.

I'm going to try and keep this updated as I do the things on the list. Wish me luck!

101 THINGS IN 1001 DAYS - START DATE: FEBRUARY 1ST 2008!

Health - Physical - Food
1.Lose 5, 10, 15 and 20 pounds. (0/4)
2.Buy a bicycle.
3.Cycle to work 3 times a week for two months. (0/2)
4.Drink soda once a week for a month.
5.Stop drinking soda entirely for three weeks. (0/3)
6.Drink green tea instead of coffee for a month.
7.Go cross-country skiing twice during winter. (0/2)
8.Go canoeing.
9.Cook one dish from each cookbook we own.
10. Make chili from scratch.
11. Get a massage.
12. Go to the beach 10 times in a summer (0/10)
13. Eat at 15 restaurants alphabetically picked out of the phone book. (0/15)
14. Stay home every night for two weeks. (0/2)
15. Go without fast food for a month (restaurant food is ok, as long as it’s healthy).
16. Only buy medium coffees for a month. (0/30)
17. Make sukiyaki, shabu-shabu and nabe using my electric pot. (0/3)
18. Go to bed before 1am for two weeks straight. (0/2)
19. Spend quality time with Peter at least twice a month.
20. Listen to loud music and dance around when angry.
21. Get a tattoo that represents my relationship with Peter.
22. Go one week without watching television or movies at least 5 times. (0/5)

Literary - Film
23. Read 20 non-fiction books (0/20)
24. Watch Casablanca.
25. Read 12 biographies (0/12)
26. Read 50 of the 100 Best Novels, 1923-Present http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html (0/50)
27. Read about 3 different religions. (0/3)
28. Write to the people who sent me Christmas cards.
29. Ask each friend to recommend a single book to me, and read it.

Materialistic - “Stuff” - Money
30. Buy a Wii.
31. Save $1 a day for 6 months. (0/180)
32. Spend $100 on a single clothing item.
33. Spend no money for 14 consecutive days. (0/14)
34. Contribute $1000 to my RSP. (0/$1000)
35. Eat at an expensive restaurant, all dressed up.
36. Start my own savings account.
37. Create and stick to a weekly budget for at least 6 months (1/6).
38. Cash in Airmiles and cut up card.
39. Rent a convertible for the weekend.
40. Put batteries in my watches.
41. Buy a complete towel set that matches.
42. Get a family portrait made.

Travel
43. Go diving in a tropical area.
44. Go to Scotland.
45. Go to Greece.
46. Go to the London Art Gallery.
47. Go to the ROM.
48. Go to the Bata Shoe Museum.
49. Go away for the weekend at least 10 times (0/10)
50. Go on a camping trip in the USA.
51. Go to New York City at Christmas.
52. Go to the Opera.

Social Events
53. Go to a baseball game.
54. Go to a basketball game.
55. Go bowling.
56. Go to a murder-mystery party.
57. Try to go Geocaching here in London.
58. Have a sleep-over party with at least three girlfriends.
59. Start a weekly or monthly girls’ night.
60. Go on a picnic with 10 friends.
61. Have a bbq party and serve margaritas.
62. Try Letterboxing.
63. Play a round of “real” golf.
64. Learn to play poker and host a poker night.
65. Go to Yuk Yuk’s and laugh out loud.
66. Organize and go on a pub crawl with friends.

Learning - Hobbies
67. Learn how to crochet.
68. Practice guitar an hour a day for three months. (0/90)
69. Start a plant from a seed and keep it alive for 6 months. (0/6)
70. Learn to play a Joel Plaskett song on the guitar.
71. Learn to play a Feist song on the guitar.
72. Learn to play a Sarah Harmer song on the guitar.
73. Knit a sweater.
74. Go to a shooting range and try shooting a gun.
75. Create my own piece of art.
76. Finish Katelyn’s blanket.
77. Creatively display old ticket stubs and concert items to hang in the house.
78. Listen to 12 albums all the way through while not doing anything else. (0/12)

Computer - Internet
79. Clean up and organize my iTunes library (WIP)
80. Turn off my cell phone for a week straight, at least 5 times. (0/5)
81. Get negatives put onto disc and make a travel book with them.
82. Only use the computer for 30 minutes a day for two weeks (not including work) (0/14)
83. Use my LJ to track my progress with this list.
84. Find creative uses for digital photos.
85. Stop using Facebook for a period of two weeks. No exceptions. (0/2)
86. Friend 10 random people on LJ and get to know them. (1/10)
87. Do project 365 starting on my birthday in 2008. http://photojojo.com/content/tutorials/project-365-take-a-photo-a-day/
88. Send out at least 10 postcards on postcrossing.com. (0/10)
89. Make a list of another 101 things to do in 1001 days when this is finished.

Career
90. Get a full-time teaching job.
91. Update / revamp my portfolio and resume for finding a job.
92. Take at least one Additional Qualifications course.

Charity - Donations - Sold Items
93. Donate books not read in over two years.
94. Give away, donate, sell electronic items that haven’t been used in years.
95. Loan someone money on kiva.org
96. Donate 100 grains of rice a day for a month on freerice.com (0/30)
97. Use or donate the remaining scrapbook materials I own.
98. Go through stuff and get rid of anything not immediately useful or sentimental.
99. Randomly send someone I know flowers for no real reason. (0/5)
100. Donate clothes I haven’t worn in over a year unless sentimental/irreplaceable.
101. Get rid of extra glasses/dishes we aren’t using and donate them.

I've made it my quest to end up owning the CBC Radio 3's Top 100 songs of 2007. I'm subtly pleased that I actually DO own a portion of what they deem to be the best of 07 already. I'm going to use it as a way to hear some stuff I never would normally be able to hear.

So far I have 76 out of 100 songs in my playlist. I haven't listened to most of them as I'm saving it for when I manage to find at LEAST 90 out of 100.. I figure 10% loss isn't that bad. :)

What are you listening to currently? I find I'm growing increasingly fond of non-mainstream stuff - I barely listen to "top 40" stuff and most of the stuff I love is pretty obscure as to what most people know, even just by word of mouth. Go ahead, listen to your Britney and stuff, but it won't do much for me!

I like to say I'm open to new things .. but a lot of what other people say is good, I think is crap. LOL! No accounting for tastes I suppose. I just expect MORE from music than most mainstream artists can possibly provide. Yes, I do have weaknesses for bands like U2 and Zeppelin, but you have to admit, they have been around for decades now and are still extremely well liked and admired (well, U2 might have slipped a bit, but it's almost my only guilty pleasure).

Anyway.. I'm not going to drone on and on .. if any of you out there would like a CD, let me know.. I have tons of stuff you probably haven't heard but probably should!

Oh, and here's a photo just for old times' sake.. :)

(I'm not in the photo as I'm taking the darn thing!) This is part of the group of crazies I hang out with on a regular basis.. lol! Hysterical!

Yes, yes, I know. I didn't update yesterday or the day before as I was busy doing things for the end of the year.

In the last 48 hours I have:

Seen a movie, gone shopping, had three brunches and tons of coffee, bashed my head twice, spent money on comics, drank gallons of beer, watched live comedy sketches, laughed so hard it hurt, danced up a storm, been hugged too many times to count, spent too much money, travelled to a different city, taken various forms of transport and loved every minute of it. Well, except for the head bashing part. That wasn't fun.

I hope all of you have a wonderful New Year's Eve, don't drink and drive and stay safe!

Peace out, 2007.



In honour of Johnny B, whose opened his house to a whackload of crazies for this evening's debauchery. Thanks!

I'm not going to be posting a photo today as I'm not at home posting.. but I am very excited because I got Lost Season 3 today .. WOO! So I'll be catching up again with the Losties before the start of Season 4 .. Peter also got me a 2GB memory card for my camera, so I'm sure it will be even more fun in the new year taking more and more photos.. I'm thinking of upgrading and getting a better camera soon too!

Looking forward to getting out tomorrow to Toronto .. it will be great. I was supposed to visit a friend, but her mom is causing some trouble for her so that will be off. I'm a bit sad about that, but hey, what can you do?

I'll be going to Toronto tomorrow, and then catching the train back on Sunday in order to catch a theatre show and then hit the 80s night at one of my favourite bars. Then it's off for New Year's party fun the next night. Hopefully I'll survive intact, but it might be a stretch, doing a three night bender. Woo for me!

Hope everyone has great New Year's plans.. tell me all about them!

Quick one today as I'm starving and have other things to do today..

Got my ETFO Local newsletter in the mail (Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario). It's really nice when you get a piece of mail that basically says you're stuck not having a permanent job for at least 5 years. Great, isn't it? Makes me feel just peachy. Then it says basically "suck it up and appreciate what you have" .. On the last page is a full news ad for DEPRESSION help. Nice! Just what all of us Occasional teachers need, because we can't get a goddamn permanent job to save our lives. Reallllly nice. Thanks for the support.

On the upside is that they are going to be putting together a focus group of Occasionals - I hope I get picked, and I damn well hope that I'm not the only person on there who can't get a job. If I am stuck in a room of retirees, it's going to get ugly, real ugly, real fast.

Work wasn't too bad last night - we just had lost/stolen calls until midnight (from 6pm), they fed us a full Swiss Chalet dinner and I had teammates to work with. Today is back to normal for a little while and hopefully it won't be too insane. I have a feeling we'll be busy though.



Today's photo is of Ryan, Peter's best friend, who we are going to see on Saturday. He moved to Vancouver earlier this year and hasn't been back since. Ryan is a good guy and a friend of mine too. Our visit already has a party scheduled in it, and then I'll be back on Sunday to party Sunday night and also Monday night for NYE!

I can't have kids. I like to party too much! LOL!

I don't understand the point of boxing day. Wasn't it supposed to be so you could return items you got that aren't your size or whatever? Well as far as I know, most stores won't accept returns today.. that kind of makes Boxing Day useless.. it makes you think.

Had a fun lunch with my parents and Peter yesterday as we opened gifts and enjoyed the quiet morning. I got quite a few awesome gifts from my parents, mother-in-law and Peter as well .. it was a really good year for gifts. I'm not talking "expensive" stuff necessarily, just things that I really liked and am happy that others thought I would like.

My mother-in-law surprised me and gave me a dress. Now, I hate dresses. I can't stand them, but I did go shopping with her one time before a wedding and bought myself one of the only dresses I have ever seen that I really liked (aside from my wedding gown) and she helped me buy it because it was a tad out of my price range. So yesterday, I opened up a gift from her, and it was the same style of dress, but a solid royal blue. It also came with a matching necklace! It was just so thoughtful and it made me feel really loved that she was paying attention - and apparently bought this quite some time ago. :) I can't wait to wear it! I shall post photos when I do.

I got speakers for my laptop (an ongoing thing has been how little volume I get out of my laptop and I don't want to blow the internal speakers like I did with my last laptop) from Peter which made me ecstatically happy. They're portable and come with their own case. Talk about awesome!

Peter and I were given a vaccuum cleaner from my parents (on top of the previous snow tire gift) and since assembling and using it a little bit we realize how much dirt our old vaccuum did NOT suck up. It was unexpected but definitely a necessity we probably wouldn't buy for ourselves! My mom did a lot of shopping at Sears this year. LOL!

I got other fun stuff that would take me eons to list here, so I'll just humour you with some photos instead. Questions? Ask me. :)

( Pics Under Here! )

That was a smattering of all the goodies I got .. I didn't want to post all the photos. You can check the rest out on Facebook if you know how to reach me there!

I have to work again today.. on the upside I get free Swiss Chalet for dinner. I love work related bribes. They're the best. I also get paid a crapload of money today, so that definitely helps. I have to leave in 45 mins. Ugh.

Later skaters.. hope your Christmas was excellent!

Quick update as I'm off to my parents' house for Christmas before I go to work at 2:30pm. I don't wanna go to work, but at least they're going to pay me tons of money and bribe me with gift cards - could be worse eh?

Hope you are all having a super Christmas so far, no matter where you are. I'll update later with gifts and events for the day, but for now ..



MERRY HOLIDAYS AND LOVE TO ALL!

Now go eat something and give some gifts. Get off the computer.

I can't wait to open presents. It's so exciting! I think my Mom got me a mixer, as I broke mine when making Christmas cookies the other week. Hopefully! I might also get a WII with my Christmas money. We'll see as they currently are not available anywhere at all .. talk about a slight oversight on the production lines.

Went out to Raygun last night with Angela. We went early-ish and were the first 2 people in the bar, decided that was a little scary, so we hit up the Scots Corner for a drink before heading back to the bar. It was nice, we chit chatted about some important things and it was nice to just chill out.

Then we went back to Call The Office and danced our butts off for the next while. It was great. I loved getting out some of the frustrations I've had lately and 80s music is just so goddamn HAPPY. We argued over one person dancing - she thought it was a girl, but I insisted it was a guy and he was just very gay. LOL!

Got a mixtape in the mail today and it's pretty decent actually. I like the cover/cd art and it actually didn't make my computer crash - so it's a good one in my books.

No gift for Peter was delivered today. I'm a little annoyed, but hopefully it will be here by the end of the week. It's actually quite slow for the company I ordered from - I was expecting it to be here much earlier. It just bugs me where there's nothing to open on Christmas! He's gone out shopping again - he always leaves it to the last minute. He's not an "early shopper" kinda guy.



Here's a photo of my grandmother. She passed away a couple of years ago. She was one of my favourite relatives and I miss her a lot at Christmas. I came downstairs the other day and there was a Christmas card lying on the table .. the address said it was from "A. Domina" and that's my grandmother's name, so I was a bit shocked at first.

Turns out it was from my great aunt Audrey, so she has the same initials and everything as my grandmother. I was so taken aback that I didn't pick up the envelope for a little bit. I called my mom and she said she would have been equally surprised too. I don't have anymore grandparents, so our kids (whenever we have them) won't have great-grandparents. That makes me inexplicably sad. I wish my Domina grandparents were still around.

Ah well. I miss the good times with my grandmother. When I was little, I used to go and stay with her for a couple of weeks during the summer - we used to go to the beach or the pool and swim, go shopping, etc. I loved spending time with her.

Here's to you, grandma. I miss you.

My holiday spirit has been waxing and waning throughout the holidays this year.. one day I'm happy it's winter and Christmas, another day I could really care less. I think there have been a lot of ups and downs recently and it's strange because usually I find myself on a pretty even keel.

I'm a big present person. I love giving things and I love unwrapping things too! I ordered quite a few things online this year and I definitely see the difference in my feeling about Christmas as an effect of that. I think you get more out of it if you actually GO to those little shops and not giant malls. I sort of wish I had done a little more shopping, but at the same time I'm happy with the gifts I've given people. :) I hope they like them too.

I did my nails strangely last night. I just felt like it I guess - I'd have painted things on them, but I'm just not that creative or steady-handed!



We went to see National Treasure 2 last night. It was pretty good. Nic was smokin' hot in his sweaters and fun glasses.. I still love him. The strange thing was that they showed a CARTOON before the movie. Everyone in the theatre was kind of confused.. I don't remember the last time I saw that, but I guess since Steve Jobs is now in charge of Disney and they're connected with Pixar, it's not that big of a surprise. It was a GOOFY cartoon - where he was trying to install an impossibly big tv with full sound system in his living room. Very strange, not all that funny.

It's dinner with my parents tonight. That's going to make my tummy happy! I love my mom's cooking. Lately we haven't been doing well in the healthy food department, so I'm very excited to eat my mom's special holiday dinner. Pretty sure it's roast beef with all the fixings, which means YUM!

I'm trying to find people to do a gourmet dinner with me on New Year's Eve .. it sucks because I have to work from 4-8pm, but it could be worse - I could have been scheduled until midnight! I have a few house parties to attend, and since I'll be on my own, total madness will probably ensue! The dinner is $50 a person, and has a whole list of things, including lobster and beef tenderloin. I want to do it, but the thought of eating alone sort of depresses me! I'm going to have to eat SOMETHING before I start drinking!

Hope everyone else has great New Year's plans.. it's a very exciting, happy night.

I made soup for our potluck at work .. I had to get up early to throw it all in a crock pot (yeah, hard work .. lol) and the drive to work with a crock pot full of hot soup was definitely a challenging one! I made it there with no spills though - quite a feat in almost rush-hour traffic.

There was way too much food for our office to possibly finish. A lot of people seem to think bringing nacho dip or pasta salad is an original, "noone else will bring THIS" type of contribution - hence the table was loaded with aforementioned dip and salad.

Meatballs. Why do older people love to make these for large groups? Did they grow up on them? I can probably count on a single hand the number of times I've actually eaten meatballs. Some of the dishes were a little more creative, using rice and sausages or rock-solid pumpernickel breads.

I'm glad everyone liked my soup. It's a nice warming potato cheddar chowder that I gacked from a website but then bastardized in my own special way. :) I'm glad I saved myself some at home first as the entire crock pot was empty at the end of my shift. Apparently people went in for 2nds and 3rds.. I'm glad I have some cooking skill as I worry about being a parent in the FAR distant future and not being able to feed the kid more than grilled cheese, hot dogs or spaghetti. I know kids love all those things, but they're not exactly conducive to natural childhood growth formulas.

Solo has been more like a kid to us - she needs constant attention, gets into trouble all the time, and is curious about everything.



She's great to have around. At first I wasn't sure, but I've grown to love her little quirks. She's currently in her hammock staring at me. I think she knows I'm talking about her.

I'm not looking forwar (not sure what I was going to say here.. LJ went down as I was trying to post!)

Oh well! Happy Holidays!

I'm happy my friends like their gifts. I have a couple more to give out, but for the most part, they seem quite pleased! Everyone I gave something to was so touched that it came directly from me - rather than a store. I think it's getting to the point that I don't want to go shopping at a mall for people. It seems so impersonal. On the flip side of things, I don't really want gifts I can't directly use. I have enough bath stuff, I don't want knick knacks, clothes are hard to get for me unless I'm given something specific I ask for .. I'm not sure .. I have a couple of friends that always give Peter and I rather weird gifts. You'd think these particular people would have great taste, but usually we always smile and nod, but wonder why they give us what they do each year.

Still, they are my friends, so I'll continue to smile and nod even if I can't stand what they've given me. I'm also a little sad because a couple of good friends are moving away in the new year. One I hardly get to spend any time with, and the other I just reconnected with in the last year and am sad now to see a huge divide separate our new friendship.

I'm changing my perspectives on other friendships as they just aren't what I originally thought they were. I've broken up with some friends in the past, and others continue to mystify me. I get attached very easily and I think while at some points that's a great quality, it does end up with me hurt because people aren't very considerate or don't see me as an important aspect of their lives.

I think part of that is because I was an only child - friendships mean quite a lot to me, and I have to come to terms with the fact that other people don't "need" friends as much. I don't like to do things alone - I'll be the first person to invite EVERYONE I know to things, and at times I'm hurt because others don't seem to return that thought. It all depends on the situation though, of course.

Anyway, enough with the crappy doldrums. It's the holidays, and I have my health and my almost 14 year relationship to focus on. Not to mention a great job (that I'll be working at every day this coming week - that's right, including CHRISTMAS EVE, CHRISTMAS DAY and BOXING DAY) I'm working Monday to Friday, have Saturday and Sunday off, then doing it all over again.

On a happier note.. here are some friends wearing their gifts.

I know, I didn't update yesterday. I think that's because I was too excited about having people over for some holiday cheer.

I ran around and did my errands during the day, then came back and prepped for the party. I made up a yummy cheese/cracker/fruit plate (raspberries add SO much to these!), some nachos/salsa and a cookie platter as well.

I also picked up some french bread to make bruschetta as a fun snack. I had the wine and set up the glasses, turned on the lights, lit some candles, etc!

Everything looked great. Then my friends showed up! Here is a photo montage of all the gifts and some others just for fun.



Chocolate tarts from Ben and Ang...



Organic lotion, body wash and hand soap from Dan...



Homemade wine and some POCKY (YAY!) from Greg...



And an oven mitt with Scottish "steamin'" coaster from Lorissa .. (steamin' = drunk, inebriated, the state of having consumed too much bevvy) ..

I had a blast with my friends and loved giving them presents (and getting some too!). Solo was out and about and was enjoying all the action happening around her cage.



All in all, a great time was had by everyone!!!

I'm always amazed at the differences in people. No matter when you think you have stuff figured out, there's always someone who surprises you. Not always in a good way, but at least a surprise makes you stop and think for a minute.

Before I started at TD, I met Al. Al has cerebral palsy and uses two arm crutches to haul himself around. Most people would find that daunting and tend to pity themselves, but not Al. He's amazing. I met him through a friend who also works at TD and was very pleasant/helpful to him the first time we met over some beers. Once I started working I would see him time to time and say your typical, "Hello, how's it going?" and have a brief convo about work and training etc.

Al is in admin, not on the phones, so he does deal with a lot of paperwork etc. He seems to really enjoy his job and talking to other people. For his birthday, Peter and I went to lunch with him and Lorissa - and he ended up sneakily paying for all of us. I was a bit taken aback as it was HIS birthday, yet he insisted on paying for the lot. I gave him a Ford book as he was saying he loved cars and we weren't really using it anyway. I also hooked him up with my Dad for a Cruise Night (my parents are big classic car/living in the 50s in 2007 type people) which he really enjoyed. Subsequently he gave me a London Knights hockey game ticket for my Dad - often hard to get because this city supports the home team with a vengeance.

(I don't know why I'm eating candy as the first thing of the day, but it's kinda good when typing)

Over the course of the last few months, I've learned that he's totally smitten with Lorissa. She's apparently not supposed to know that I know, but we're pals, so I do know, and have known from day one. Al talks to me all the time - usually not at the best time as he finishes work when I'm desperately trying to get inside to get a seat (they are scarce at times) so it's hard not to brush him off.

Well for Christmas, Al sent us this:



Inside the basket are crackers, chocolate, gourmet hot chocolates, bruchetta mixture, fresh salsa, breadsticks coated in chocolate and some candy as well. We instantly ate the chocolate covered marshmallows.. YUM!

Most people would say, "Wow, that's really nice of him" .. but that's not all he sent.

He included inside the basket a card. Inside the card were gift certificates for a local restaurant/pub totalling $100!!! This is what floored us. We don't really know him all that well, and yet he's spending over $100 on a gift for us for the holidays???

It almost made us feel guilty. He's requested we use the money to take myself, Peter and my parents out for dinner - which is totally generous and nice. The thing is, if I had spent that much on a pal from work I didn't really know, Peter would have killed me and my friends would have said I was crazy. Generous, but crazy!

I've thanked him already for it (several times) and learned that he's making Lorissa a music/jewellery box.. who does THAT?! (oh he's totally in love, but it's never going to happen - the age diff is huge).. he's asked me to take him to the basket place on Saturday so he can get her a basket for now, because he's not done the music box yet.

It's like some weird Elizabethan drama/tragedy where love is one-sided and doomed.

Ok, ok. So I didn't post Saturday or Sunday, but I promise I'll make up for it today. Saturday was tres hectic. We had planned on leaving by 9:30am, but didn't actually exit the city until about 10:30am. Had to pick up the mother-in-law, had to get gas, had to get coffee. All the crap you gotta do before leaving town! We hit the highway and all was well until we got to Mississauga, where there was a traffic jam and old man winter suddenly had a beef with us.

The weather turned bad, so we decided not to go to King City - thereby blowing up my plans for seeing friends for lunch. That totally sucked. We ended up taking forever to get into town, but finally did it safely.

Went to sister-in-law's place and hung out with her and her crazy tongue-permanently-sticking-out cat, Lenny, and had some weird grilled cheese sandwiches before heading out again. Stopped at a liquor store and grabbed some wine/beer and then made it over to the other in-laws house in time to start dinner.

I was super thrilled at the prospect of having lamb for dinner. I hate lamb. I didn't know I hated lamb until I tried it, and I'm sorry, it does NOT taste like beef. Mint sauce? What? On MEAT? Whaaaat? I'm not down with that. Not at all.

I was really hoping for chicken or something, but no... lamb again. We had that last year. I'm afraid it's going to become a Kearney family tradition and I'm horrified at the idea. Anyway - we went to visit Ryan's mom before dinner to give her some cookies and wish her a Merry Christmas before it was suddenly changed into Happy New Year. I love Ryan's mom. She yaps constantly and always makes you feel super special when she sees you. She's awesome! She's also living alone, which contributes to her talking for way too long. LOL!

We had dinner back at the homestead - parsnips, brussel sprouts, broccoli, potatoes, lamb .. and .. CELERIAK. I said "Excuse me? This isn't mashed potatoes?" what the FUCK is celeriak? That's not a real vegetable. It can't be - it has to be something some nutty scientist engineered in a secret lab in the middle of a storm. Why does Peter's sister insist on serving fucked up stuff? What happened to normal food?? When she cooks, it's always an experience.

After dinner, we hit the subway and went to the Horseshoe. It was pretty busy when we got there, but it got even busier as the night went on. shmanny bumped into me totally by accident, but it was great because that way I didn't have to look for her in the crowded bar.



We listened to the opening band (who were already playing when we got there) and had a few pints.



Two Hours' Traffic constantly make me love them everytime I hear them live. I love their sound, attitudes and background. Their songs are solid melodies and make everyone dance!

More pints later and Joel Plaskett came on to a full house. Everyone was so happy to see him play. He even played with his DAD! How cool is that? The audio was incredible. We were kinda squished at the back, but it was ok - the front would have been hell on earth!

Stuck around after the show so we could schmooze with Mr. Elkas. This was the first time Shannon and I hung out after a show to meet the band and stuff. It was fun because she's the one person who understands the bands I love and loves them too. We both have awesome musical tastes, and even though they may not line up perfectly everytime, it comes pretty close in general!

And the evening was topped off when Mr. Elkas saw me and waved enthusiastically - I think it helped that I had JUST talked to him at the last show here in London .. he's so beautiful. I felt somewhat not-as-cool with Shannon (the music mag guru) beside me, but it was awesome to be there with them. :)



I won't get into harrowing detail about the drive back to London the next day in a blizzard, but we did make it home and now I have to go to work. Boo!

Will update again as I do have a bit more to say, but alas, no time!

I am in a rush today, so can't really do an in-depth entry.

Someone apparently bought us a gift basket. A lady called and asked about us being home for delivery. I was stupidly mute as I didn't know what to say or why we'd be getting a basket. It's not like I'm preggers. I don't honestly think I've EVER been given a gift basket before. What does that even mean? Basket of WHAT?! Wtf.

Threadless.com is having a holiday sale. If you don't know what Threadless is, you are definitely in for a treat. $10 shirts that are super cool and always great to buy. I suggest you go there NOW and get some for yourself or for someone you love.

SOLO!


She must chew the camera hand cord. Nice. She's started storing more food under the sofa. She's a smart rat, that's for sure. Not that there are stupid rats.. there aren't, are there?

We get a kick out of her eyes. You don't even notice the different colours when you look at her normally - the flash brought them out. They almost look fake!

Anyhoodles, time to get my butt off to work. I have to go find something to take for my lunch. Huh. I don't think we have any food.

Laters! (go to threadless.com NOW!)